KEY defender Lynden Dunn is a chance to return for Melbourne’s clash against North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena on Sunday.

The former vice-captain played for Casey in a VFL practice match last weekend, but is right in the frame to play against the Kangas, given their talls in attack.

Speaking on Roos’ Views, coach Paul Roos said Dunn had put his name right in the mix to play his first home and away match for 2016.

“[Essendon forward Joe] Daniher was really effective against us. We felt our 18-man defence wasn’t great, so that’s certainly a big part of it,” he said on Melbourne TV.

“We’ve been really happy with the way Dunny has responded and he went back down and played well on the weekend.

“He comes under consideration and some of the other guys have put themselves at risk with their performance last week. One of the things we want to be really strong on is picking an in-form team and a team that plays the way we want to play. We’re trying to reward guys’ performances at Casey.”

Roos said the clash against North Melbourne was a great opportunity for his side to take on a genuine contender this year.   

“They’re a high quality team and a team that’s expected to contend this year, so for us, it’s a really good challenge,” he said.

“Sometimes going away after a big loss is important because you get together with a group and there are no distractions. You can talk more about footy and sit down with someone you mightn’t normally converse with over dinner.

“We know it’s going to be a tough game, but we believe if we play as well as we’ve done the previous four weeks, we give ourselves a chance.”